7.08.2009
Captain Horatio Hornblower bkII: Ship of the Line
by C.S. Forester, 323pgs, hardcover
Overall Grade: B
Series: Horatio Hornblower
They don't bind books like this one anymore. The library copy I read was copyright 1939! God, I love the smell of old books - almost as good as new books. But I digress...
I blame the library's poor cataloging system for causing me to again read books out of chronological order. Especially because this time it was also out of publication order. So throughout the book, Horatio was pining over a Lady Barbara that I'd never adequately encountered!
Horatio himself, when he's not pining, or moping, or berating himself, was slightly better in this book. He no longer had his ethical disdain for prize money, and in fact wished he had some. He also executed a lot of cunning plans in this novel - he really is a thinker. I especially liked the chapter where they save the admiral's floundering ship during the middle of a storm. Very interesting - had not read anything like it before in the genre!
Still, I think when I am finished with Hornblower I will go back and re-read Patrick O'Brian's series. I don't recall Jack Aubrey ever being so low all the time.
Labels: genre: fiction, genre: historical, media: book, series: Horatio Hornblower
